Myriad
by QuillPenAndAnInkJar
Summary: Winn's used to weird things happening in National City - ever since his best friend, Kara, told him that she was a superhero, he's basically been up for anything. But nothing could prepare him for Kara's uncle's master plan - a plan that, for a while, even he enjoyed. One-shot. (Rated K plus for thematic elements and violence.)


**Hi everyone! I came up with the idea for this a few days ago after seeing the last two episodes of _Supergirl_ 's Season 1. I hope you enjoy!**

 **(Disclaimer: Supergirl belongs to DC Comics and CBS/The CW.)**

* * *

 _That Barry guy was so cool,_ I think as I sit in my apartment, reading a book. _I mean, who else have I met that could dimension-hop and time travel? And, I mean, if you can run as fast as he can..._

I wonder if Kara can do any of those things, but is just hiding it from me. She's always been full of surprises, so I wouldn't be too shocked. I'll have to ask her about it tomorrow.

I'm reading one of those old _Animorphs_ books when I feel it. It's nothing much. Just a small disturbance - a small shake that rattles me, but not too much.

I look down at the book. What was this? What have I been subjecting myself to? Had I been enjoying something that wasn't related to work?

I close the book and put it down. Usually I leave unfinished books open and leave them next to my small chair - my house is full of them - but now it feels like second nature to do the opposite.

I stand up and walk out of the room. I have somewhere else to be. Down the stairs, out the door, into the streets. Hundreds of other people are marching, in formation, through the streets of National City. I find an empty spot in the crowd and join them. A few rows ahead of me, I see James, marching with the rest of the crowd, expressionless.

Just like me.

Turn left, turn right, and I'm only a few blocks away from CatCo Industries. The door is being held open by two doormen, each without emotion. I walk inside and go up the first elevator I see.

It's Cat's elevator. I don't recognize it as anything but an opportunity to get upstairs.

I walk in, James and another worker joining me - a girl named Kelly. I just barely recognize her from everyday work - I don't usually talk to her, seeing as I'm usually preoccupied with trying to avoid the wrath of Cat Grant.

But no longer. I know my place now.

After a few minutes, the elevator dings, and the doors open up to my floor in CatCo. James walks away from me, off to an office of his own. Kelly and I head towards our desks, right in the middle of all the action.

Kara isn't there. Of course she isn't. She's probably off somewhere, trying to figure out what is going on. Maybe she's consorting with her cousin about how to stop this -

A voice in my head tells me that I'm wrong. Clark is too busy with a matter off-world - and if he does come, he'll be just as helpful as the rest of us.

I smile as I open up my computer, typing frantically in a language I barely understand. I only know what I needed to know - what was it, a month ago? - when I had to defeat Indigo.

Again, not something I had to worry about now. Now I'm on her side. Fixing the world - all humans pushing toward a common goal.

Typing and typing, Kryptonian letter after Kryptonian letter. It's as if I've taken Rosetta Stone for a nanosecond and remembered every single grammar rule, every single spelling exception - everything.

Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice. While usually I'd respond to it, I keep my mind focused on my work.

"Winn!" the voice says, calling my name. Kara. _Definitely_ not paying attention to her. Not now.

"Winn, can you hear me?" she says. I keep on typing. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her glance at her computer screen. Her forehead is scrunched together, the way it always is when she's nervous.

I continue to type, letting the thought escape from my head.

"I know you're in there," she says, her voice breaking. "I could really use my friend right now."

A small part of me wants to wrap her in my arms, to tell her that she's in the right, that she'll be able to fix it, but I push it down. No sense in fraternizing with the enemy.

I continue typing as she walks into James's office. One particular word is coming up again and again - _myriad._ Like, having a great number of a particular object or concept. But it's capitalized.

I remember the plans that Kara's told me about - Project Myriad, the plan that Astra said was going to save the world. The plan that she had tried to stop.

 _Too late_ , I think, just barely keeping a smug smile off of my face.

Kara's in the room again, talking to someone on her smartphone. General Lane. Lucy's dad. He must be out of the current borders of the program. That'll be fixed soon. For this is Myriad, I realize. This is the program that was going to save the world - and it's working. The entirety of National City, working together, typing in the same language. No boundaries, no tiresome "fun" activities, nothing that would impede the saving of the city, the world, the universe.

Suddenly, the elevator dings again - the same one that I had come out of just a few minutes before. It's Cat, talking to Kara, calling her that ridiculous mispronunciation of her regular name. Suddenly, she stops.

"Supergirl," she says. I hadn't noticed that Kara was in her superhero getup. "Well, what a pleasant surprise. What, do we have a 9 am?"

 _What is she doing?_ I think. _She's not working for the others...she's not a part of Myriad…_

Kara's expression is perplexed - apparently she's thinking the same thing. "You're not a mindless drone," she examines.

 _Okay,_ I think. _First of all, I'm not a mindless drone. And second of all -_

"Uh, no," Cat says, in her breezy, I-don't-care-about-anything tone. "I learned that lesson when Demi Moore and I wore the same dress to the premiere of _Ghosts_. Never again."

She grimaces, as though wearing the same dress as another celebrity is the worst problem that the world could be going through. Has she realized what the state of the world is right now?

Kara starts to argue with her - of course, doing it when she doesn't have the risk of losing her job. Cat probably doesn't suspect a thing about who Supergirl really is - although, when Barry was in the office earlier today, she did say that she knew those kinds of things, just like _that -_

I realize that my typing speed has slowed, so I devote all my attention to the task at hand. _No dillydallying_ , I scold myself. _Myriad doesn't allow for wasted time._

Suddenly, I hear the chime of a cell phone. Quickly, I reach into my pocket, making sure that mine is off. It isn't, but the chime isn't coming from me. I turn the phone off anyway, getting back to work.

Kara runs behind me, and so does Cat. I vaguely hear the words "Superman" and "coming" and "help." _Oh God_ …

They walk out the door, which closes loudly behind them. A minute later, I hear another door open. It's the elevator - the one that I had gone up, the one that Cat had come out of.

Maxwell Lord steps out of it. I resist the urge to punch him in the face, for many reasons - _he's not supposed to be here. He's supposed to be at Lord Technologies, a worker of Myriad like everyone else. He caused the decline of Supergirl's reputation -_

I cut off the thoughts before they distract me. Can't think about Supergirl. Not here, not now. I continue to type.

He walks behind me, going to the same porch that Kara and Cat are standing on. After a minute of shocked silence, they all walk in. I don't expect them to be all chummy, but I'm a bit surprised at how quiet they are. Maybe Myriad's starting to take them, too.

"Do Kryptonians gloat?" Max says. "Because I'll bet wherever he is, ole Uncle Non is feeling pretty good about himself."

I seethe with anger, trying to keep a straight face. Someone like Maxwell Lord didn't deserve to say his name.

After a brief snark-off between Max and Cat, they get down to business - figuring out what their plan is for stopping Myriad. I feel a heat in my stomach, growing stronger and stronger. Why would they stop Myriad? Why would they stop something that's doing the world so much good? Even Superman was under our control - I could feel him in the streets, clearing the streets from the past few fights with Livewire and Silver Banshee and J'onn, making sure that everyone could get where they needed to go.

After a few hours of bickering over whether violence was the answer or not, I feel a chill down my spine. _Non_ , I think. _He's here._

Sure enough, Cat spies him. "Oh, looks like someone made it through security."

He walks behind me, getting closer and closer to Kara. "The son of Jor-El has already knelt before me. Soon you will, too."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kara's face, filled with hate and despair. I know that on any other day, I'd be on her side, backing her up.

But this isn't any other day.

"I don't want to fight you, child," he says.

"Afraid I'll win?" Kara says. _Boy, has that girl got spunk_ -

I can almost hear Non's voice, scolding me, telling me to be quiet.

"You've already lost," he says. "Accept it and the glorious fulfillment of Astra's vision."

I can hear the sorrow in his voice when he mentions Astra, and I feel sorry for him. He must be incredible to be able to implement this plan so soon after his wife's death.

"In the end, she defeated you."

"This doesn't look like victory to me," Kara says. Her hands are curled into fists, her eyes like those of a python, ready to strike at any moment. "And all you're doing is betraying her. I was with Astra in her final moments. We forgave each other, we paid respect to our blood bonds. She didn't want this."

"Of course she did," Non says. "It's what everyone wants, is it not?"

I bite my tongue, wanting to say that I am for it - a hundred percent.

"Peace on Earth," Non continues. "Goodwill towards man."

"It's a lot less like Christmas out there and more like _Dawn of the Dead_ ," Cat interjects. _This isn't your fight,_ I try to silently, telepathically warn her.

"The human race finally has a chance to live," Non says. "Or it would suffer the same fate as Krypton."

I see Kara flinch - Non's struck a nerve with her.

"And the same thing is happening on Earth, with the populace more interested in reality stars and political circuses than working together to solve the world's problems," he says. He walks around the table where I'm sitting, getting closer to Kelly's seat than to mine.

"So mind control is the answer to global warming?" Max says, his voice edged with bitterness. "Why didn't I think of that?"

I want to interject that I'm just doing what has to be done, not following orders, but I know it would be out of place. I continue to type, key after key.

"Thanks to Myriad, there are no more racial divisions, no Republicans, no Democrats."

Kara walks behind me, joining Non on Kelly's side of the desk.

"Only one people, working with one purpose towards one goal. To save the world," Non says dramatically.

"Except you haven't saved them, you've _enslaved_ them," Cat says.

"Humanity is better than this," Kara says. "If you really want this planet to avoid the fate of Krypton, then work with us."

"With these people?" Non says, gesturing to Cat and Max. I try to think of a pleasant encounter I've had with either of them, but I honestly can't think of anything. "These two are the best of your world, and all they do is help the populace amuse themselves to death. If anything, they've laid the groundwork for me."

He walks near my desk, looking over my shoulder at the work I'm doing. I type faster, trying to impress him. Then I realize he wants something more out of me.

I look at Cat and Max. "You've already turned us into drones," I say, hearing Kara's shocked gasp."

"Winn!" she says, rushing over to me. "Winn, can you hear me?"

"Your inventions have drowned out sense and turned it into nonsense," another voice says from a few feet away. I recognize it as James's voice - he's come out of his office, ready for this altercation.

"But now everyone is united," I say, "everyone's creativity and thought dedicated to eradicating famine, disease, climate change."

As I speak the words, I can feel the truth in them. No matter what problems - if any - are in the program of Myriad, the end result is something that everyone wants.

Kara's face is horrified. She looks at James, and then me, with a look of disbelief and confusion.

After a pause, I hear Max speak. "You're harvesting the brain power of everyone in the city to solve the world's problems? National City is a giant think tank?"

"This is not the way to solve the world's problems," Kara says. I bite back a retort - _Then what is?_ I think. "Your heroics have done nothing to save the planet."

"This is the inevitability of Myriad," I say at the same time as James.

Kara's forehead wrinkles again. "Non, stop this!"

"These are your friends, aren't they?" Non says. I want to make the correction of saying that we _were_ her friends, but I know my place.

"Let them go," Kara says simply.

"I've have lived with loss," he says. "Allow me to return the favor."

Suddenly, I know what he wants me to do. Somewhere inside me, I feel an irrational section of me telling me that what Non wants me to do is suicide. Literally.

I push it down. Kara needs to learn her lesson.

I stand up and walk toward the balcony, following James and Kelly.

"What are you doing to them?" Kara says, her voice rising.

"Non has ended crime in National City in one day. One second," I say, walking farther and farther away from Kara. I feel like I'm about to take a leap into the void and hope that there's something for me to land on. I know the way I'll land, but in every superhero story, there's someone who dies, someone whose death teaches the superhero a lesson. Maybe my death is what she needs to finally cooperate with Myriad.

"Winn, Winn, stop!" Kara says, her voice breaking now. My heart is beating faster than it's ever beaten, as though it's trying to make up for the beats it's about to lose.

"Which is more than the three of you have ever done," James says, looking back at Cat and Max as he walks out the door onto the balcony. We're at least a hundred feet up - I remember when Kara was under the influence of Max's Red Kryptonite and threw Cat off the roof, deciding to catch her to show Cat how terrifyingly horrible she could be. That's the kind of horrifying behavior that this will prevent.

"James...James?" Kara cries.

Beside me, Kelly stands on a chair, and then on the rim of the balcony. "Oh my God," Cat says.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Kara says. "What's happening?"

I jump onto the edge of the balcony, in between James and Kelly.

"Catch," James says, facing Kara as he stretches his arms out and lets himself fall. _Okay,_ I think. _Here goes nothing_.

I dive off the balcony. The wind whips past me as the world spins. _This is for Myriad,_ I think repetitively, trying to distract myself from the cold, hard ground creeping closer and closer to me. _This is for Myriad, this is for Myriad_ -

Suddenly, a wind comes and picks me up. Kara. I feel James's presence to her right, and I'm to her left. I notice the absence of someone, however.

We come to a stop, a gentle landing on the ground below us. Kara runs in front of us, toward a mass of flesh and blood, a not-so-good case of entropy on the pavement.

"Oh my God," she says. "Oh my…"

"You missed one," I say bitterly. What kind of hero lets someone die?

My heart is racing, my breath trying to control itself. I honestly can't believe what I just did - I could've been killed - I could've _died_ -

 _Control yourself,_ I think.

Kara looks back at us.

"Do not stand against me," James warns.

"Or more will die," I say matter-of-factly, as though it's just something that is destined to happen.

James walks closer to Kara. "Everyone you know, love, and care for will die," he says, and I realize that he's including both of us in his description. "Accept defeat, Kara Zor-el. I have already saved National City."

He puts his hands around Kara's neck, and I'm not sure if he's caressing her or attempting to choke her.

"Next, I will save the world."

Kara's eyes are wide, her mouth open in disbelief. She's horrified at who James has become under what she believes to be a spell.

James puts his hands down, and we turn in unison to go back into the building. There's more typing to do.

* * *

Once I get back inside, it's business as usual. More and more typing, more and more saving the world -

And then suddenly, I hear Kara's voice.

She's not here. I can feel that much. But her voice is there.

"People of National City," she says. "This is Supergirl...and I hope you can hear me."

Her voice is full of doubt, uncertainty.

"We have been attacked. Mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors, children, everyone, suddenly stopped by a force of evil as great as this world has ever known."

Her words are slow, deliberate.

"Your attacker has sought to take your free will. Your individuality."

I look up, finally realizing where the voice is coming from. Kara's picture is on every single television on our CatCo floor.

"Your spirit. Everything that makes you who you are."

I try to get back to typing, but Kara's voice is ringing in my ears.

"When facing an attack like this, it's easy to feel hopeless."

She's wrong. She _has_ to be wrong. I don't feel hopeless. I'm hopeful for...for her to get off the television. That's it.

"We retreat. We lose our strength, lose our self. I know. I lost everything when I was young. When I first landed on this planet, I was sad...and alone. But I found out that there is so much love in this world out there for the taking, and you, the people of National City, you helped me."

As I hear the sincerity in her words, the typing on the scene is replaced with her logo. The big S, in the weird-shaped pentagon. At first I'm angry - all my work from the entire day has been erased. But suddenly, I start thinking of what the symbol means. Stronger together. Hope. A symbol that says that everything is going to be okay. I can't type anymore, but maybe...just maybe...I could do something better than typing…

"You let me be who I'm meant to be," Kara continues.

Suddenly, memories run through my head. Kara falling backwards off the roof and flying up and over me, landing behind me. The feeling I felt when I realized that my best friend, the girl that (at the time) I was in love with, was a superhero. Seeing her walk out of her room in the costume that I had designed, after countless attempts (okay, two attempts) to figure out a good costume. Us linking hands after my dad had escaped prison, her telling me that it was going to be alright.

I gasp. What had I done? Oh, God, what had I tried to do? I had spent hours - almost a whole _day_ \- working on something that was pointless, and for what? I feel my heart racing, my head pounding as I realize...I had almost died...I had almost been killed...one of my coworkers is dead…

I look around as Kara continues to talk. One by one, my friends start coming out of their trances. Bit by bit, the office wakes up. I'm still waking up myself, trying to deal with what I've just done. The things I've said, the lies I've believed…

As quickly as I can, I get up, walking over to James's office. Would he be okay? I mean, sure, it was bad for me, but for James...Kara's boyfriend…

He's staring at the computer screen blankly. A second. Two seconds.

Then he closes his eyes - hard. His breath grows heavier. His face grows perplexed and shocked, and he looks over to me. I don't know what to say.

He pauses, and then he jumps out of his chair, running out of his office.

"Winn - are you okay - are you hurt -" he stammers.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," I say. Before I can say anything else, he wraps his arms around me in a hug.

"What just happened?" he says, barely audible. I shake my head, closing my eyes to stop myself from breaking.

"Hope," I can hear Kara say in the distance. "That you will see again the faces of those you love...and perhaps even those you have lost."

I can feel the sorrow in her voice - I know who she's thinking of.

"Remind me to give her the biggest hug possible when I see her again," I whisper.

"We might be able to," James says, and the hug breaks. "I recognize that studio - when I was little, I took a tour of that studio. I know where it is."

My eyes widen. "We have to do this."

As quickly as I can, I rush over to Cat's elevator. At this point, I need to get down to the ground floor as quickly as I can - and I know one way that I am _not_ going down.

James grabs his car and turns it on, speeding down the roads of National City. I look out the window at the city, wondering what else is going on in it.

After only a few minutes, we arrive at the studio. I knock on the door, and Alex answers it.

"Winn...James...this is a surprise…" she says. She's distracted.

"Is Kara in here?" I say. She nods, and we walk in.

I see her, sitting behind the desk, in the recording studio. She's smiling, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright.

Then she sees us. She gasps.

"Winn! James!" she cries, running into the control room. James and I open our arms at the same time, and the three of us hug.

"Thank you," I whisper into her ear. My eyes are closed, attempting to hold back the tears that are pricking at it.

Kara doesn't respond - but I can feel her smile.

"Are you okay?" she says as the hug breaks.

I shrug. "If you count 'shocked out of my wits' to be a form of okay."

She laughs. Suddenly, her face falls.

"Kelly…" she says. James nods.

"It'll be alright," he says. "I hope."

She smiles. "Me too."

* * *

The next day, I see her walk in, her hair up, a cute outfit on.

"Kara," I say, realizing that there's something I need to tell her. James is next to me.

"Hey," she says, walking over to her desk and putting down her goods from Noonan's.

"Hey, listen...um…" I stammer. "Just...the things that we said to you…"

James senses what I'm implying. "What he's trying to say is that we're sorry."

Kara waves her hands. "It wasn't you. _This_ is you."

She hugs us quickly. I can't express how relieved I am that she isn't holding any of what I said against me.

I smile and itch my nose. "Um...and, uh, thanks...you know...for saving our lives."

"Yeah," James says, looking back at Kelly's desk. I look over my shoulder at it. Someone's put a small bouquet of flowers on it.

"Hey, Kara...nobody could've saved all three of us," James says. "Not even Clark."

Kara looks down. "Well, the DEO is working to find Non and Indigo, and when they do...they'll pay for what they did."

She walks behind her desk. I can tell she's still upset that she couldn't save Kelly. I wonder...if she had decided to save Kelly...which of us would she have left behind?

"Well, I'm just happy that you're safe," James says. "And the three of us are back together."

She giggles. "Me too."

I smile at James - man, does he know exactly what to say.

"But I think we should talk about that thing that happened...uh, right before Myriad struck," he says.

I raise an eyebrow.

"The thing," Kara says. She doesn't know what he's talking about either.

James nods. "Yeah. The _thing_ thing."

Suddenly, Kara's eyes widen. " _The thing_."

I'm still trying to figure out what's going on when I realize the only thing that they could be talking about.

"Oh, this thing has nothing to do with me," I say. I can already feel myself blushing. "All good. I got other things."

As I walk away, I hear James say it.

"You kissed me," he says.

"I kissed you," Kara admits, embarrassed.

I cover my mouth, trying to hide the smile that's bursting to my face.

* * *

After the morning meeting, Kara scurries out for a bit. I know what she's doing - she's going to the DEO, probably making sure that everyone there is okay. I realize that the headache that I had after Myriad had let off isn't going away, so I grab a cup of water and drink a bit. It's not going away, but if I leave work early, Cat'll…

I see Kara walking behind me as I grab a pack of RedVines, her face flushed and nervous. "Hey," I say. "You look like you could jump in on that lunch order. They just called it in."

"No, it's fine, I've had, like, four lunches already," she says.

"Really?" I say. "Just, no offense, you kinda have that little hypoglycemic I-haven't-eaten-in-twenty-five-minutes look."

She giggles.

"Sorry," I say. "Here."

I take out a RedVine and hand it to her. She looks at me, more intensely than I've ever seen her.

"Look, I know I don't say this enough...or ever, really...Thank you," she says.

I'm taken aback. "For what? You're the one that, uh, that just saved everyone from super mind-control ray…"

"No, that's not what I mean," Kara says. "I...Thank you for being such a great friend. Always. From my first day at work here…"

She looks around, making sure nobody's listening in on our conversation.

"...my first day as _Supergirl_...your friendship has been one of the best parts of my life."

I can't help the smile that's coming slowly to my face.

"Could you, uh…" I hold up the piece of candy. "Just have a RedVine, won't ya? You're starting to get sappy, even for me…"

She nods, looking down. Before I can tell her that I didn't mean it like that, we hear Cat calling for her.

"Go, uh, tame the beast," I say, smiling. She walks away without a word, and I look at her. What did she mean? Why would she thank me _now_?

I walk back to my desk and take another drink of water, wishing I had Kara's power of never getting sick.

The headache won't back off, and a few hours later, it's worse than ever.

"James?" I say, walking over to his office. "I need your advice."

He nods, a little distracted. I wonder if Kara's talked with him, too.

"I have this...uh, headache, and it's not going away, but I'm not sure if I should leave or not," I say. "It's getting a lot worse than before, but I don't want Cat all mad at me."

"That's weird," James says. "I have a headache, too. I think I'm gonna stay, though."

I nod. "Thanks."

"Anytime," he says, turning back to his work.

I walk out the room. Suddenly, however bad it's been, the headache becomes exponentially worse. I fall to the ground, leaning against one of the pillars for support. James is feeling it, too - he staggers out of his office, his hand clutched to his head.

We lock eyes, and he crawls over.

"What is this?" I say as I watch the rest of the office crying out with pain.

"It's Myriad's plan B," James says. "It has to be."

I'm cringing even more now, the headache so bad that I can barely see.

"I'm scared," I whisper.

He nods and holds out his hand. I grab it, holding on to it for dear life, as though it's my only link to the rest of the world.

 _Kara, wherever you are_ , I think. _Do something._

By now, I feel like a red, hot iron is being pushed into my head. My vision is fading in and out, and I know that if it isn't stopped, somehow, then eventually it won't fade in anymore. I'm not sure what's more nervewracking - falling a hundred feet to my death or having it be slow and steady from a safe height.

I close my eyes, knowing that it'll be over soon. I hold James's hand as hard as I can. _Please, please, please -_

And then as quickly as the headache started, it stops. The world is silent. I'm dead - that's it - it has to be - I open my eyes -

And there's our floor in the CatCo building. I look to my left, and there's James, our hands still together. He looks at me, perplexed.

"She did it," I say between heavy breaths. "She stopped Myriad - for good."

His face relaxes, his stressed shoulders losing their stress. "Thank God," he says.

I smile. I'm alive. Oh, I'm alive.

* * *

I don't see Kara at work the next day, but I get a text message from her.

 _Got promotion from Cat. Celebratory dinner 2night w/ James, Alex, + J'onn? Hope u can come. Potstickers, pizza, + maybe the champagne trick._

Instead of saying Cat's name, she sends an emoji of a cat with heart eyes.

I text her back:

 _R u kidding? I ain't missing the champagne trick! Count me in._

That night, I meet her at her apartment, helping her set the table. She's even better at the champagne trick than Clark, according to James.

"To Supergirl," he says, raising his glass.

Kara shakes her head. "To family," she says, looking at Alex. "Love bonds us all."

I smile - now that's a toast I can live by.

"To family."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I love writing stories about scenes in books and movies from different characters' points of view, and I thought seeing Myriad from the point of view of one of its victims would be an interesting perspective. Since Winn is one of my favorite characters (although I may be biased, seeing as I'm the biggest _Newsies_ fan this side of the Mississippi), I thought it would be really cool to write the story from his POV.**

 **EDIT: Did I actually say that Winn said something _matter-of-factory_? (That's one of the few bad things about writing stories on an iPad.) I fixed the typo for your reading pleasure. Whoops!**

 **Feel free to review, but please no negative reviews or cursing. (And please, NOTHING POLITICAL!) Thanks!**


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